1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery housing device that houses a pair of batteries connected in series to each other with terminals thereof being in direct contact with each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
A battery housing device houses a pair of batteries connected in series to each other with the terminals thereof being in direct contact with each other. The battery housing device can have a smaller size and be more inexpensive, since no medium conductor is necessary between the terminals of the series batteries in direct contact. However, such a battery housing device has a possibility that a stain or rust on the contact surfaces of the terminals of the paired batteries causes a contact failure and, therefore, a voltage drop in the battery assembly. In an electronic apparatus provided with such a battery housing device, more particularly, in a digital camera, for example, the voltage drop of the battery assembly results in a decrease of the number of pictures that can be taken.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-236936 discloses a battery cartridge on which four batteries or a battery package can be selectively mounted and an electronic apparatus using the same battery cartridge. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-255748 discloses a battery insertion mechanism, in which a battery housing adapted to house four batteries is pivotally attached to an outer housing of an electronic apparatus and housed in a recess in the outer housing of the electronic apparatus to serve as a lid for the recess. In these publications, there is no description of a device that removes stains on the terminals of the batteries.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-45263 discloses a battery case that is adapted to rotate a battery about its axis in response to sliding of a power switch to make a terminal of the battery rub against a fixed edge portion, thereby wiping out stains on the surface on the terminal of the battery. However, this battery case has a disadvantage that the load of the sliding of the power switch is high.